Remember that awesome woman who championed for Jane Austen to replace Charles Darwin as the face of Britain’s 10-pound note? Well, as a direct result of her activism, feminist Caroline Criado-Perez has received criticism in the manner almost exclusively reserved for women: rape threats. Of course, she’s also received death threats, just so scary assholes can cover their bases in the “FUCK WOMEN” game. More »

Great news for Austen lovers! Jane Austen‘s image will be replacing Charles Darwin’s on the 10 pound note. This makes her the third woman to appear on British currency after Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry. More »

Let’s make some initial assessments about Matthew Rhys’ ability to play Jane Austen‘s Mr. Darcy without knowing anything about this man. First off, he looks like he is smiling and that is incorrect. Darcy never smiles. Or maybe he smiles at the end of the book. I don’t know. I’m having trouble making assumptions as I really do not care for Jane Austen. But some people do, which I guess is why we’re going to watch an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice every two years until we all die. More »

A day may come, in the far and distant future, when there will not be fourteen simultaneous adaptations of Pride and Prejudice being produced at any given moment, but that day is not yet. Pride and Prejudice adaptations are the only offering keeping Jane Austen sleeping in a quiet grave; without these yearly oblations, she would burst forth from her tomb in the unhallowed ground and swing a scythe of fire through the living, exacting her tribute from our very flesh. More »

Some of our friends have been getting push-back from their editors that their manuscripts could be a little bit more “chick lit.” Which is sort of like Picasso presenting ‘The Old Guitarist’ and being told “more pink! And put a cupcake in it!” But then, cupcakes are delightful. So here are some classic novels we made a little bit lighter, a little brighter, a little bit more chick-lit. More »

We’ve already discussed how much Mark Twain hated Jane Austen, to the extent that, when he was on his deathbed, one of his friends kept threatening to come read Jane Austen to him if he didn’t recover. But was Mark … More »